World Cup 2026: Lamine Yamal bidding to join elite group of teenagers as Spain play Argentina in final

When asked if Spain would win the World Cup, Lamine Yamal just smiled and said “yes”.

His words to American broadcaster CBS during preparation would have come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the confident youngster develop into one of the best players on the planet.

However, according to many, Lamine Yamal would have to set the tournament on fire in his first World Cup for his prediction to come true.

So far this has not happened.

The 19-year-old scored once and made no assists, but his country still progressed to the final and will face Argentina on Sunday.

While superstars such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland starred, Lamine Yamal’s World Cup remained surprisingly understated.

But could this be his moment?

Lamine Yamal’s statistics for Spain are incredible. He has not yet been defeated in 27 official matches he played for his country. He played 12 matches in major tournaments for Spain and won them all; this is the player with the longest 100% win rate of any European player in major tournaments at the start.

If he scores in New York on Sunday, he will become the third teenager to score in a World Cup final, after Pele in 1950 and Mbappe in 2018.

If you win the tournament, he becomes the fourth teenager to start and win the World Cup final, after Pele, Mbappe and Italian Giuseppe Bergomi in 1982. Nineteen-year-old teammate Pau Cubarsi could be fifth.

“Nobody will care if Lamine scores and scores a lot of goals,” said one supporter from Spain. “If he wins the World Cup with Spain he will be a legend forever.

“If we lose to Argentina, no one will remember his first World Cup. We know there will be many other World Cups and we believe it will be the greatest.

“But not many young people get the chance to win the World Cup. This is his chance. If we lose and he can’t do his best, he will regret it.”